The crisis of COVID-19 pandemic, has shaken up the whole world with its power of transmission and unknown treatment strategy. A disease that starts with fever, cold, and cough leads to extreme fatigue, loss in breathing capacity, alveolar damage, and eventual death. The disease forced human beings to stay at home to protect humankind. Due to the serious nature of this COVID- 19 pandemic, humankind was forced to understand the plausible cause and methods to reduce the spread and find out the best possible therapeutic regimen. Thus, the present review provided new insight into the history, symptoms, pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical research, and follow-up treatment strategies of COVID-19. Further, In order to deal with such a pandemic situation, we have even introduced a novel concept of natural therapy based on medicinal plants for repurposing it as potential as a therapeutic warrior against COVID-19.

Innumerable techniques have been explored to fabricate delivery systems for bioactives/biologic agents. Major hindrance in the execution of these techniques for scale-up production is the requirement of defined steps including practicality of process, excipient compatibility, process and formulation optimization, scale-up and validation with a view to achieve optimized yield. Different designing techniques, such as experimental design-factorial design, can be employed as tools to offer a rational approach for developing phases for the fabrication of effectual delivery systems. Thus the desirable features can be successfully obtained by designing techniques that are cost-effective, generating the extreme information, and understanding with minimum number of runs and maximum reproducibility.

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disorder, characterized by morphological changes in skin followed by visceral organs. The pathogenesis of scleroderma involves immune imbalance and generation of auto antibodies. The major causes of scleroderma include multitude of factors such as immune imbalance, oxidative stress, genetics and environment factors. A constant effort has been made to treat scleroderma through different approaches and necessitates life time administration of drugs for maintenance of a good quality life. It has been reported more in women compared to men. Traditional treatment strategies are restricted by limited therapeutic capability due to associated side effects. Advancement in development of novel drug delivery approaches has opened a newer avenue for efficient therapy. Current review is an effort to reflect scleroderma in provisions of its pathogenesis, causative factors, and therapeutic approaches, with concern to mode of action, pharmacokinetics, marketed products, and side effects of drugs.

The genetic variability of the tomato (Solanum section lycopersicum) 15 germplasms (seven different species) was assessed using a combination of qualitative and molecular data. The joint dissimilarity matrix showed moderate correlation with the original matrices of quality and molecular data. However, the correlation between the qualitative dissimilarity matrix and the genotypic dissimilarity matrix was low. This finding indicated that molecular markers (ISSR and SSR) did not adequately sample the genomic regions that were relevant for qualitative differentiation of the germplasm. The dissimilarity values of the joint dissimilarity matrix were used to measure qualitative + molecular diversity. This diversity varied from 0 to 1.43 among the 15 germplasm, with an average dissimilarity among genotypes of 0.62. Joint analysis of qualitative and molecular diversity indicated that the genetic diversity of the tomato germplasm was 174% and 69% higher than the diversity estimated from qualitative and molecular data, respectively. These results show that tomato genetic variability is not as limited as previously thought.

Plants are constantly exposed to stressful situations due to changing environmental conditions or through their contact with numerous pests and pathogenic microorganisms. Plants have evolved various strategies to defend themselves against these stresses. Plant responses to these stresses are complex and involve numerous physiological, molecular, and cellular adaptations. These defensive traits may be naturally occurring or artificially selected through crop breeding, including introduction via genetic engineering. Such an interaction between both types of stress points to a crosstalk between their respective signaling pathways which may be synergistic and/or antagonistic and include among others the involvement of phytohormones, transcription factors, kinase cascades, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). These include systematic acquired resistance (SAR), induced systematic resistance (ISR) the resistance provided by symbiotic fungi, b-aminobutyric acid-induced resistance (BABAIR) and wound-induced resistance.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder distinct with series of complex change with unknown genesis. Constant effort has been made to treat RA through varied form of bioactives involving drugs, biologics, enzymes, genetic and hormones. Thus advancement in therapy involved introduction of targeted approaches and formulation of novel carters for efficient therapy. Current review is an attempt to contemplate RA in terms of pathogenesis, causative factors, targeted approaches, delivery of drugs through targeted ligands, novel carters as vesicular, particulate, self assembled, cellular and ceramic systems. Various polymeric components, drugs, biological molecules could be tailored directly or indirectly to target cells, bone site (hydoxyappatite), and macrophage cells to treat RA. The additional benefit of cellular carriers like erythrocytes and lymphocytes cells warrant likelihoods for delivery of peptides and recombinant proteins effectively.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammatory disorder of the digestive tract reported to be primarily caused by oxidative stress. In this study, alginate encapsulated nanoceramic carriers were designed to deliver acid labile antioxidant enzyme catalase orally. Complete system was characterized for size, loading efficiency, in vitro antioxidant assay and in vitro release. The prepared nanoceramic system was found to be spherical with diameter of 925 ± 6.81 nm. The in vitro release data followed the Higuchi model in acidic buffer whereas in alkaline pH sustained and almost first order release of enzyme was observed up to 6 h.

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is an important grain legume crop of rainfed agriculture in the semi-arid tropics and second most important pulse crop grown in India. Present work has been attempted to isolate, characterize, fuse and culture leaf derived protoplasts of different 10 lines of pigeonpea comprising of 8 wild species and two predominant varieties of cultivated species of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) i.e. GT-101 and GTR-11. The isolated protoplasts of all the eight diverse wild species of pigeonpea were attempted to be fused with two cultivated varieties of pigeonpea-GT-101 and GTR-11. Protoplasts were successfully isolated from cultivated and wild pigeonpea. Several combinations and concentrations of hydrolytic enzymes with PEG were used for protoplast isolation and fusion, respectively. The incubation in an enzyme mixture containing 1.0 % cellulase, 0.15% macerozyme and 2.0% pectinase for 18 hr at 25 degrees C in dark produced good yield and viability. However, the best response was obtained with species Rhyconsia minima. Among different combinations of PEG concentrations (28, 35, 40%) tested in general, 28% PEG treatment produced the highest fusion frequency. Purified protoplasts cultured in agarose solidified MS medium were tested. A total of four hormones 2,4 -D, kinetin, BAP and NAA were used with different concentrations. It has been observed that proto colony was achieved within 5-6 days of culture and within 9 to 10 days, clusters of 20 to 30 cells were obtained. The maximum calli formation was observed in 2,4-D whereas it was minimum under NAA. Further, for confirmation of regeneration in proto calli, this was observed under microscope which clearly showed regenerated cell wall and vacuolated and clustered shape of parenchymatous cell which could confirm growing calli from proto calli.

RAPD assessment on genetic variation of total 58 accessions comprising 15 parental genotypes and their 43 F-1 hybrids of grain Amaranthus were analyzed. Among the 40 tested primers, four primers viz. OPA-06, OPA-10, OPA-14 and OPA-15 were able to discriminate all the genotypes sufficiently. In RAPD analysis, at the intraspecific level, the percentages of RAPD polymorphism were found to be 71.43 (A. hypochondriacus), 100 (A. cruentus), 100 (A. caudatus), 75.76 [IC-1733 (A. edulis)] and 84.85 [SKGPA-144 (A. tricolor)] and hybrids showed varied degree of polymorphism ranging from 42.86 to 71.43 per cent. The population matrix showed that allele at SKGPA-144 (Amaranthus tricolor) and F-1 hybrids have maximum genetic distance of 0.742 to 0.962 in all populations while population IC-1733 (Amaranthus edulis) has minimum genetic distance among all the germplasm. The lowest and the maximum genetic distance of IC-1733(Amaranthus edulis) was 0.663 and 0.720 respectively to all populations. It further matches the pattern of allelic frequency distribution where SKGPA-144(Amaranthus tricolor) and F-1 have remarkable high polymorphism.

Research was aimed to molecular characterization of parents and specific crosses through RAPD markers thus RAPD assessment on genetic variation of total 34 accession comprised six parental genotypes and their 28 F1 hybrids of Indian mustard were analysed. The genomic DNA extracted from each genotype was used to PCR amplification with initially twelve primers were tested. Out of twelve seven primers viz., OPA-07, OPA-09, OPL-07, OPB-03, OPB-04, OPC-05 and OPC-09 yielded comparatively maximum number of amplification product with high intensity and minimal smearing, good resolution and also clear band. A total of 57 DNA fragments, out of which 48 were polymorphic given on average of 84.63 percent of polymorphism. The average polymorphism per band was 6.86 and per cent polymorphism varied between 71.43 (OPB-03) to 100 (OPL-07) percent. The seven primers and their total amplicons of 34 accession grouped into two clusters i.e cluster A, implicated all parental genotypes and cluster B, implicated All F1 hybrids, cluster B over separated to three sub cluster i.e. B1, B2 and B3. The genetic resemblance ranged from 0.32 to 0.96 which illustrated that significant genetic variation exists among various combinations of mustard lines.

Bioefficacy of different populations of Steinernema carpocapsae was studied against Meloidogyne incognita in laboratory condition as well as in pot condition. The mean percent mortality of M. incognita second stage juveniles were recorded after every 6 hrs intervals upto 72 hrs at different inoculum levels viz., 5, 10, 15 and 20 IJs of EPNs per cavity block in laboratory condition. Maximum (20.62) mean per cent mortality was observed with S. carpocapsae STSLU@ 20 IJs per cavity block after 72 hrs. Bioefficacy of the S. carpocapsae against M. incognita was also studied in pot condition. Maximum (37.79 cm) shoot length, (30.00 g) shoot weight, (31.79 cm) root length, (12.61g) root weight and minimum (22.83) galls per plant, (10.69) eggmasses per plant, (232) eggs and larvae per eggmass and (507.38) larvae per 200 cc soil were recorded with S. carpocapsae STSLU @ 20,000 over all other treatments.

A study was carried out to determine the nematicidal effect of plant leaf ash of Icorina lotufolia, Uvaria kerniyae Beav, Cymbopogon citratus Stapt, Tetrapleura tetraptera and Azadirachita indica A. Juss. for the control of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incoginta) in soybean (TGX 1802-IF) in a pot experiment. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments) each replicated four times. Statistical analysis showed that the treatments significantly (Ps0.05) reduced nematode population in the soil and root as compared with the non-treated plants. All the treatments except Azadirachita indica ash significantly (Ps0.05) reduced the number of galls over the control, whereas there was no significant (P>0.05) effect on nodule numbers. The treatments significantly (Ps0.05) increased growth and yield parameters over the untreated control. However, the treatments did not significantly (P>0.05) differ in all cases over the control in growth parameters. The leaf ash of the test plants could therefore be harnessed as a source of nematicide of plant origin to manage the problem of plant-parasitic nematodes in soybean production.

A total of 97 soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of various crops grown in varied agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan during Rabi 2005. Out of these only six samples collected from wheat, rose, guava and forest trees yielded entomopathogenic nematodes belonging to genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis. On the basis of morphological characters and body dimensions the population recovered seems to be different from already described species of Steinernema and Heterorhabditis. Hence, these were designated as race STSIRO of Steinernema and HMABU of Heterorhabditis.